Standing Up
by khughes830
Summary: Donna defends Josh to Matt and Leo during the reception, since no one else will. Includes spoilers for The Wedding steer clear if you haven't seen the ep and don't want to know.


**Post-Ep:** The Wedding  
**Characters: **Josh, Donna, Leo, Matt  
**A/N:** Based on our new and improved Donna Moss - love the confidence and her TOTALLY flirting with Josh last night!  
**Disclaimer: **All characters belong to Wells, WB... blah, blah, blah - we all know how it goes!

* * *

She spotted them from across the room and felt this resolve build up inside of her. She's not real sure where it come from, but, before she knew it, she was working her way across the room to where they sat, talking amongst themselves.

Leo noticed her approaching first and stood up as she reached the table.

"Donna, you look stunning this evening."

"Thanks, Leo. Can I talk to the two of you for a minute?"

Matt nodded to her and she sat down, next to Matt and across from Leo. She sighed and looked at her glass of wine for a minute.

"Donna…" she heard the Congressman say. She looked him directly in the eye.

"May I speak frankly and openly, Sir?"

Matt and Leo looked at each other for a moment, noticing the look on her face. Matt had never seen it before, but Leo had – a long time ago during one of his visits to Josh while he was still recuperating. Leo had made the mistake of trying to talk shop and Donna had laid into him like he'd never been reprimanded ever – and that's saying a lot, since Margaret had worked for him for 15 years.

Both men nodded at Donna, afraid to speak.

"Leo, Congressman, I respect you both. What you two have done with your careers is amazing. You are both powerful men and I know that with the two of you running the country, only great things will happen."

"Why thank you, Donna, and I appreciate all…"

"I'm not finished, Congressman. In fact, I'm just getting started."

Leo smirked, knowing what was coming. Matt's eyes got wide, knowing he was in for a lashing. He knew why Donna seemed to remind him so much of his wife.

"Sir, to think that… ok… Congressman, you realize you wouldn't be sitting here today if it weren't for Josh Lyman, right?"

Realizing she was waiting for a response, he just nodded.

"Good, I'm glad you realize that. And Leo, you know that if Josh had jumped off the Hoynes ship 9 years ago, you would be sitting at this reception at the farmhouse in Manchester, right?"

Again, Leo just smirked and nodded.

"Great, well then, we are all on the same page. Leo, Congressman, to think that you two are even entertaining the idea of replacing Josh is infuriating at a member of this campaign and a loyal Democrat. Josh is a brilliant political mind. He knows what he's doing, Sir. No, he's not perfect – god, believe, I realize he's far from it. Hindsight is always 20/20 – no one knows that better than Josh. He's beating himself up about the whole Illinois thing and, on top of it all, he's stressed that he will be out of a job tomorrow. He's been doing all this, basically by himself because he believes in you, Congressman, and he wants to make sure you win this thing. This isn't an ego thing for him – he truly believes that you can make a difference as President. If he didn't care, if it was only an ego thing for him, he'd have taken on the Russell Campaign instead of seeking you out."

"Donna…" Leo said, trying to get a word in.

"I'm still not finished, Leo. Congressman, Illinois was a screw up, a royal screw up, but even the smartest political pundits, including the one sitting next to you, would have done the same thing Josh did. CJ, Will, Lou, hell, even Matt Skinner's Chief of Staff have all said that they would have done the same thing Josh did – Illinois looked like a goner until yesterday. On top of everything else Josh has done for you over the last year, you also expect him to be psychic? Turning your back on him now would tell every other Democrat that Josh can't get the job done. You would ruin him – the man that brought you to this point would no longer be able to do what he loves because you think he should have known something there was no way he could have known."

"Donna…" Leo said, trying again to get a word in.

"I'm still not finished, Leo" she said, her voice getting a little louder.

This time Matt decided to try his luck. "Donna."

"Sir, I really think that…"

"Donna, everything's fine."

She looked at Matt like he had suddenly grown a third head. "What?"

"We talked about it and, believe me, everyone has been pushing for Leo and me to make a change. But, Leo made me realize that it's not about Josh and the campaign anymore, it's about me making the connection. Because, if I can't do that, then I have no business being President of the PTA, much less of the country. Josh is staying put. We okay now?"

Donna looked between the two men. "Well… ok then. Thanks for letting me speak my mind."

Matt just laughed. "You know, I knew I liked you for a reason, Donna. Guess I know who'll be whipping us back in line if we ever get out of it again."

Both men smiled at Donna as she got up and crossed the room. She was in the middle of the dance floor when she spotted him in the corner, staring at the tattered map he'd been staring at all day.

She put her glass on an empty table and crossed to him. He didn't even notice her presence till she took the paper out of his hands.

"Donna, what in the world are you doing?"

She smiled at him and folded up the map and reached inside his jacket and put the map back in the inside pocket. Instead of removing her arm, she gently wrapped it around his waist and leaned in to whisper in his ear.

"I'm bored, Joshua, and you are going to entertain me."

She pulled back and smiled at him and finally got him to smile back at her. He wrapped his arm around her waist and walked her out to the middle of the dance floor. The band was launching into a slow song. Donna wrapped her arms around Josh's neck as he pulled her closer to him. When she laid her head on his shoulder, he was finally able to exhale and relax, for the first time in days.

THE END


End file.
